I'd like to tell you that I've just returned from a tour of gastronomic discovery with a bunch of new menu ideas. No such luck.

Right now we are getting ready to be inva-- entertained by a visit from Mr. Kitchentales's family. They invited themselves up here for a Father's Day cookout. I don't mind them inviting themselves, because since it was their idea they are bringing most of the food.

As a gift to Daddy Kitchentales (86 years old) I am making a Shoo Fly Cake, one of his favorites. It is like a shoo fly pie, but without a pie crust under it. Shoo Fly Pie is a Pennsylvania Dutch recipe, an acquired taste because the primary flavor is molasses. But if you like it, you really like it.

Shoo Fly Cake
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 pound butter
2 cups flour
1 cup molasses (can use part Karo syrup)
1 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix brown sugar, butter, and flour until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup. Arrange the remaining crumbs on the bottom of an 8 by 8 inch square baking pan and press down. Mix all the remaining ingredients well and pour over the crumbs. Top with the reserved crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 35 minutes, until cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. This can be made in two pie plates, where it resembles a pie with a graham cracker crust.

This is 1/2 of the recipe that is supposed to make an 9 by 13 inch cake and take 45 minutes to bake. I made the full recipe once, and it made 3 of the 8 by 8 inch pans.

If a person were to make the pie version, here is a recipe for the wet type, meaning the filling has the consistency of maybe a pecan pie center. The dry type comes out more solid, like a cake or gingerbread baked in a pie crust.

Shoo Fly Pie, Wet Type

9 inch pie shell, unbaked
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup light molasses
3/4 cup very hot water
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until mixture is like crumbs. In another bowl, combine the molasses and hot water. Stir in the baking soda. Now you must work quickly so that you do not lose the leavening power of the baking soda. Either put the crumb mixture in the bottom of the pie shell and pour the molasses mixture over the crumbs, or vice versa. Putting the crumbs on the top makes a slightly moister pie. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes.

Note: Some recipes omit the spice and use instead a teaspoon of vanilla extract.